Mark Cuban said he regrets selling the Dallas Mavericks to the Adelson family, recounts reaction to the Luka Doncic trade in podcast interview
Former Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban admitted that he regrets selling the team to its new owners.
In comments made on the "Intersections" podcast released Monday night, Cuban said that selling the team was the right decision for him at the time, but he "made a lot of mistakes in the process" that ended up with billionaire casino magnate Miriam Adelson and her family buying the team.
Cuban retained a minority stake in the team, but Patrick Dumont, Adelson's son-in-law, took over as the team's governor. Dumont is also the one who signed off on the controversial decision to trade superstar guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers last February.
How Mark Cuban found out about the Luka Doncic trade
Cuban said he was at a conference in Florida when he got a text message from then-general manager Nico Harrison asking Cuban to call him.
"I thought he was asking me what I thought about a potential trade for Luka. He was like, 'No, Mark. It's done," Cuban said.
Then he called Dumont.
"He started telling me stuff that wasn't true, that he had been told as the reason why he approved it. And I'm like, 'That's not true. This is a mistake.' But nothing I can do," Cuban said.
Cuban also addressed criticisms of Doncic that played a role in Harrisson's decision to seek a trade, namely his physical conditioning.
"He's not going to be the guy who takes his shirt off for the cover of a magazine, you know?" he said. "I don't care if he's overweight. He's going to give you 30 [points], 10 [rebounds] and 10 [assists]."
Cuban said Doncic's desire and ability to take the last shot to win games are what make him special.
"That's what defines Luka magic, because it wasn't the plays in the second or third or fourth quarter," he said, "It was the plays at the end of the game that where he would do something spectacular. And there are so few people who are able to do that. You don't trade him."
